The baht declined 0.2 percent to 31.54 per dollar as of
3:16 p.m. in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Its three-month implied volatility, a measure of exchange-rate
swings used to price options, fell 24 basis points, or 0.24
percentage point, to 6 percent. The yield on the 3.25 percent
bonds due June 2017 held at 3.12 percent, according to data
compiled by Bloomberg.

The Bank of Thailand has kept its benchmark interest rate
unchanged at 3 percent for four straight meetings after cutting
it in January. The rate “should be at 2.5 percent,” Kittiratt
said yesterday in Bangkok, adding that he wants to see the baht
weakening slightly to help exporters. The currency reached 31.27
on Aug. 6, the strongest level since May 22. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index rose for a third day on speculation global central
banks will take steps to boost growth.

“Asian countries’ attractiveness is their higher yields,
therefore the prospect of a rate cut would put some downward
pressure on the currency,” said Hideki Hayashi, a researcher at
the Japan Center for Economic Research in Tokyo. “You may also
expect some importer demand for dollars when the baht is near
its recent high. However, sentiment itself is not too weak with
gains in stocks.”

The Bank of Thailand will next review monetary policy on
Sept. 5. Exports, which account for about two-thirds of the
economy, dropped 4.3 percent in June from a year earlier, the
third decline in four months, while imports increased 5 percent,
according to central bank data.